Triggers
loufranks
Posts: 45
Hopefully it won't be too triggering to talk about triggers today. Please think twice about reading on if you think this may cause you to binge 
I'm just interested to know more about what triggers other people because I'm trying to be aware of possible triggers in my own life. I have definitely realised that going too long without food is a really huge trigger for me and that I tend to have more calories when I actually try to eat less. I am trying to get over that by eating little and often...sometimes I'm successful, sometimes not.
Another one for me is boredom - not so much having nothing to do (I have plenty I need to do) but nothing that I find stimulating. I am trying to find other activities which are more stimulating. I've recently (as I've gained a bit more energy after losing 10-15 pounds) realised a fondness for housework. I like being able to expend energy and see somehting for it...though I think I'm driving my husband nuts.
Being alone is also another dangerous time for me. It's not that I can't binge when my husband is around as he knows I binge (in fact, he does too). When I'm on my own thoughm I have nothing to hold me back and I can honeslty scare myself just how much I can eat....doesn't even matter if I'm already full!
Other ones? Stress, conflict, the usual
I'm just interested to know more about what triggers other people because I'm trying to be aware of possible triggers in my own life. I have definitely realised that going too long without food is a really huge trigger for me and that I tend to have more calories when I actually try to eat less. I am trying to get over that by eating little and often...sometimes I'm successful, sometimes not.
Another one for me is boredom - not so much having nothing to do (I have plenty I need to do) but nothing that I find stimulating. I am trying to find other activities which are more stimulating. I've recently (as I've gained a bit more energy after losing 10-15 pounds) realised a fondness for housework. I like being able to expend energy and see somehting for it...though I think I'm driving my husband nuts.
Being alone is also another dangerous time for me. It's not that I can't binge when my husband is around as he knows I binge (in fact, he does too). When I'm on my own thoughm I have nothing to hold me back and I can honeslty scare myself just how much I can eat....doesn't even matter if I'm already full!
Other ones? Stress, conflict, the usual
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hmm I find anxiety is a huge trigger for me. My job - or lack of career job [stuck in retail] really stresses me out and I feel I'm in a helpless position of not being able to do much about it. Being in a foreign country has also spiked my binges, general loneliness, depression, insecurity. Similar to you, if I'm under-eating - by the third day I'll without a doubt end up bingeing.0
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The under eating thing is definitely a big one, but it's the one I struggle with the most with my all-or-nothing personality. I have always beat myself up after a binge by not eating for 24-48 hours and then I'd binge (of course!). It's only now that I've actually understood that I have always set myself up for failure. Now I am forcing myself to eat something for breakfast, a snack if I can (often too busy though) and then 2 other meals. I've even thought about splitting my evening meals up into 2 small portions so that I don't end up bingeing. i'm sure it's just a matter of trying different things until it works.
On another note, i think I've noticed that hormones play a big part too. Talk about having carb cravings! Ugh! That's passed off now but the last 5 days have been horrible. To make matters worse, I caved in too
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I dont even know anymore what is my triggers not feeling loved.. not feeling like somebody being treated like a child trying to be a grown up I just have so many things in my life I cant identfy which one is a trigger or are all of them and sometimes I just wish I could go away as soon as my children are grown 0 -
I think that's where my bingeing problems first started. When I was a child mum never acted like she loved me - or even liked me for that matter - yet my sister was showered with affection and attention. Mum would take my sister out for the day and leave me home with a bag of sweets (candy). i think over time I associated that with feeling full of love? I don't know, it's hard to explain. I ended up growing up thinking there was something wrong with me and it's only now as an adult that I can see that she was the one who had the problem. This even had a lasting effect on my sister who is now bulimic and suffered from years of guilt over the fact that mum treated her so differently. I have no animosity towards my sister (in fact she's one of few people I can really talk to) but I have a lot of anger towards my mum and also guilt about feeling like that...especially since we actually get on well now. But anyway, I digress...
I nearly had a binge yesterday and recognised this was coming on. I was seriously temted to numb my upset with food but decided to use it as an opportunity to learn. So as I sat there feeling all upset because somebody had said no to me, I tried to make sense of it. Actually, I never did make sense of it and I couldn't even identify what the feeling was. Perhaps that's because I've numbed the pain of life for so ling now? The nearest sensation I could get was disappointment, anger, confusion and helplessness. I'm not sure how that's going to stop me eating, but maybe in time it might help.
Have you tried identifying your feelings and journalling instead of bingeing? It doesn't always work for me, but recognising that I'm only wanting to eat because I'm upset and that I'll end up just hating myself even more if I do binge, does sometimes stop me over eating.0 -
I'm an only child so it wasn't a case of my mum or dad treating siblings differently but my mum always told me if I was sad or something not very good happened to 'just have some chocolate you'll feel better' or 'drink some fizzy pop' and over time I've started associating food and happiness together and with all the stuff that's been going on in life ... things just got out of hand. My mum doesn't try to reign me in or help me at all now, she doesn't believe that BED is real which makes getting help really hard.
But yeah to answer your question my triggers tend to be when something in my life is emotionally getting me down, so when I'm sad, angry, happy, stressed etc. etc I turn to food cos' people keep telling me that BED isn't real which makes getting help from friends, family even doctors (who I'm nervous around anyway) virtually impossible because I'm insecure as well ...0 -
Triggers for me are def not having food when being hungry. So I try to always carry something with me and keep stuff in the car. (Almonds or fruit, something in a controlled packet). Being around certain family memebers do it for me big time and when I feel extra discussed about myself.0
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Hi, I find binging hard to resist if i have drunk caffinated drinks. I have now cut all caffeine out of my diet, decaff tea is fine and am getting used to decaff coffee. This means my craving, and then associated binge stays more controllable. Hope this helps. Be kind to yourself.Xx
I also try to treat my eating as if I was responsible for nurishing someone else, someone I care about and who has no knowledge about what is recommended eating. I woulldn't let or encourage or be able to afford them to binge eat. So just before I have a binge episode I try to think if I would recommend it to this person. If not then I try hard to resist self harnming myself by binging. Sometimes this helps the urge to pass.
It'd be great to hear what you think about my comment........Xx0 -
I also try to treat my eating as if I was responsible for nurishing someone else, someone I care about and who has no knowledge about what is recommended eating. I woulldn't let or encourage or be able to afford them to binge eat. So just before I have a binge episode I try to think if I would recommend it to this person. If not then I try hard to resist self harnming myself by binging. Sometimes this helps the urge to pass.
That is a great idea. I had never thought of doing this before. I think it also makes a good point. It seems like we are more likely to care for someone else (a complete stranger even) and their needs more than we would our own. I think a lot of these bad feelings come from not feeling worthy of doing well for ouselves. I think pretending like I was helping someone else that depended on me would help me to feel it was more important. When I think of caring for/ loving myself, I can't really grasp what that means. I don't know how to treat myself with care and compassion yet, but I know how I would show it to someone else I care about and maybe thats all I can do for now. Thank you for this insight0 -
Being alone is a trigger for me....I just came back from a week's vacation and the most "normal" eating I have done in years, I think....but. as time to come home drew near......don't you know? When my friends went out on the lake for a boat ride , I scurried inside, and quickly ate a chocolate bar left over from "s'mores" fixings. But, that was my only emotional eating episode the whole time. Really low stress environment.....too bad we can't be on vacation all the time....but, now, back to reality and dealing with my BED.0
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oh lets see mine is a bad day, stress, going way too long without eating, being bored, being in the house by myself (because no one will see me eat), this one is weird and most would use this as a motiviation but looking at old pictures of me when I looked great makes me feel like what's the point I'll never get back to that. Another weird one, working out too much (I know I need extra calories if I'm burning 800 calories but I tend to eat too much). I'm sure there are others but can't think of them.0
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Being dehydrated, caffeine drinks, big breakfasts, sugar and thinking/reading about binging are my triggers. I read about a girl struggling with binging yesterday and half an hour later I was binging myself
I love the idea of having a caring relationship with myself and talking to myself in positive ways, but it's so difficult....0
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